2018 National Artists - Seven Stalwarts of Philippine Art

Seven icons in art and culture were bestowed National Artist status by President Rodrigo Duterte in a ceremony last October 24, 2018 at Malacañang Palace. Do you know the songs Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika, Paraisong Parisukat and Tuwing Umuulan at Kapiling Ka? Have you been to The Coconut Palace or seen the San Miguel Building in Pasig? Do you remember chuckling at the humour of the Mang Ambo and Slice of Life comics? These are just some of the works of these artists. The 2018 National Artists are: Larry Alcala (for Visual Arts), Amelia Lapeña Bonifacio (Theatre), Ryan Cayabyab (Music), Francisco Mañosa (Architecture), Resil Mojares and Ramon Muzones (both for Literature), and Kidlat Tahimik (Cinema). The awards are bestowed posthumously for Alcala and Muzones. This brings to 73 the total of proclaimed National Artists of the Philippines, the highest national recognition bestowed on Filipinos who have made significant contributions to their artistic field.

Cartoonist and illustrator Larry Alcala is best known for his Slice of Life which depicts the quirks of the Filipino psyche. He pioneered animation for tv commercials in the late 1950s, and was given the title Dean of Filipino Cartoonists. He is the creator of 500 cartoon characters, 20 comic strips, six movies, two murals, and 15,000 published pages of comic strips.

Amelia Lapeña Bonifacio is the founder of Teatrong Mulat ng Pilipinas, a children's theatre and puppetry company based in the University of the Philippines (UP). Known as the Grand Dame of Southeast Asian Children's Theatre, she was also the chairperson of the UP's Creative Writing Program. Her literary output covers 20 books, 40 plays, 130 stories, and a number of essays and research on theatre.

Musician, composer and conductor Ryan Cayabyab, aka Mr. C, is probably the most famous composer of the century, having crossed over many disciplines and industries. His body of works range from theatre musicals, commissioned full-length ballets, an opera, a Mass, popular music, film scores, tv specials, and orchestral pieces. He has been a recipient of numerous awards, i.e. Philippines' Ten Outstanding Young Men, 2001 Onassis International Competition in Greece, as well as accolades from the film, television and recording industries.

Architect Francisco Bobby Mañosa is known for his designs using indigenous materials and forms (i.e. bahay kubo, bahay na bato), combined with modern building technology. Among his iconic designs are: the Coconut Palace; Amanpulo Resort in Palawan; Pearl Farm in Samal Island; Shangri-La Hotel in Mactan; the San Miguel Building in Mandaluyong; and the EDSA Shrine. He was among those proclaimed National Artists in 2009 by President Gloria Arroyo but was rescinded by the Supreme Court due to legalities in the proclamation.

Writer, historian and literary critic Resil Mojares' writings focus on literary criticism, urban and rural history, and political biography. He is the founder of the Cebuano Studies Center, a library and research center dedicated to Cebuano culture and history. Because of his significant work on Visayan literature, he is touted by peers as Visayan Titan of Letters. He has won numerous National Book Awards by the Manila Critics Circle and was honoured with a Gawad Balagtas award from the Unyon ng Manunulat sa Pilipinas (UMPIL).

Ramon Muzones completed his law degree at the Central Philippine University in Iloilo City. He founded Sumakwelan, a group of Hiligaynon writers, and has 62 novels to his name. He was awarded the Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas from UMPIL in 1988, and the Cultural Center of the Philippines' Gawad para sa Sining in 1989. He passed away in 1992 at the age of 79.

Kidlat Tahimik (real name Eric de Guia) is widely regarded as the father of independent Philippine cinema. He earned his MBA from Pennsylvania's Wharton Business School and worked in Paris for the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. It was a chance meeting and a small role in Werner Herzog's film that started Kidlat's film career. His first film, Perfumed Nightmare in 1977, won the International Critics Award at the Berlin Film Festival. Since then, he has acquired international and local awards for his films, and has inspired filmmakers to pursue their vision, independent of commercialism.

These are some of the artists who have forged paths in Philippine art and culture and are a source of national pride. The bestowment of the National Artist Award is valuable in that nominations come from peers and as proclaimed by the President of the Philippines, is the highest state honour conferred to artists. May the legacy of all National Artists continue to be recognized and appreciated by Filipinos, in the Philippines and globally, for the present and the succeeding years.

* This article was published in the November 2018 issue of the Alberta Filipino Journal.

Leandro Locsin: Philippine National Artist for Architecture

Leandro Locsin

One of Manila’s notable landmark is the CCP Complex.  Built on reclaimed land, it holds the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Folk Arts Theater, Philippine International Convention Center (PICC),  Philippine Center for International Trade and Exhibition (PHILCITE), and the Sofitel Philippine Plaza - all designed by Leandro Locsin, making it a virtual Locsin complex.

Leandro V. Locsin (1928-1994) is the 3rd Philippine National Artist for Architecture (1990), after Juan Nakpil (1973) and Pablo Antonio (1976).  Most Filipino architects of his time were trained in Europe and the United States, or have taken undergraduate or graduate studies abroad.  He, on the other hand, pursued his studies solely within the Philippines.  A talented pianist, Locsin enrolled at the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music to pursue a career in music.  A year before graduating, he shifted to the School of Architecture in the same university.  While pursuing his architectural studies, he worked as an artist-draftsman at the Ayala Corporation.  He graduated in 1953 but before establishing his practice, he designed stage sets for ballets.  Later on, he would design for the esteemed dance pioneer, Martha Graham.

In 1955, Locsin was commissioned by the Catholic Chaplain of the University of the Philippines, Diliman, to design a chapel that is open and with a capacity of 1,000 people.  The Church of the Holy Sacrifice, the first round chapel in the Phils. with the altar in the centre, and the first to have a thin shell concrete dome, is now a landmark not only in the university, but is a declared  National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum and a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Institute. 

Cultural Center of the Philippines

A visit to the United States marked encounters with architects Paul Rudolph, known for his use of concrete and highly complex floor plans, and Eero Saarinen, famous for simple, sweeping, arching structural curves or machine-like rationalism style.  These two would have the greatest influence on Locsin, as evidenced by his succeeding works.

Locsin’s designs are marked by his distinct use of concrete, themes of floating volume, the use of native materials, the roof emphasized as the dominant form, wide overhanging eaves, massive supports, interior lattices and trellises, ornamental detail contasted with simple forms, and spacious interiors.  His peers have described him as the “Poet of Space” for the way he articulated space using straightforward geometry.  

Up to the time of his death, his body of works include 75 residences and 88 buildings, including 11 churches/chapels, 23 public buildings, 48 commercial buildings, six major hotels, and an airport terminal building.  Aside from the five structures at the CCP complex, other notable works are: the Philippine pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan (1970); the original Ayala Museum (1974); some buildings at the University of the Phils., Los Banos; Ninoy Aquino International Airport; and the Church of the Monastery of the Transfiguration in Malaybalay, Bukidnon. 

Palace of the Sultan of Brunei

Locsin placed the Philippines on the world map in 1969 with his most recognizable work, the Cultural Center of the Philippines - with its gentle sloping curves giving way to an enormous box and a large lagoon in front, thus creating the impression of suspension.  But his largest and most spectacular work is the Istana Nurul Iman (Palace of Religious Light), the palace of the Sultan of Brunei.  The palace has a total floor area of 200,000 sqm, a grand reception hall accommodating 5,000, a throne room with a capacity of 2,000, and two mosques crowned by  a dome plated with 22-carat gold. Malayan and Islamic motifs, modern lines, and the latest building technology blend in what has been hailed as the new Versailles.

Phil. International Convention Center (PICC)

In 1959, Leandro Locsin was one of the recipients of the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) Awardees for Architecture and in 1992, the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize.  His citation for the Fukuoka Asian Cultural Prize states:  Mr. Locsin's works beautifully incorporate such traditional qualities with the openness and vastness of modern architecture. His unique interpretation of architectural features such as lattice and curved lines are eloquently expressed in his modern, Western form of art. What lies behind this originality is his principle: to synthesize or to blend Western and Eastern culture. Without this theme, the modern architecture of the West could not have taken root within the existing Filipino architecture... His private life is characterized by continued commitment to other arts and culture. He is a fine pianist, a deeply committed admirer of oriental art and the visual and performing arts. When his multi-faceted artistic talent is fully exhibited in architecture, its details display a well-calculated beauty of form, and its appearance reshapes the urban landscape... His phenomenal career is not only evidence of a natural wealth of talent, but also a tribute to his Filipino mentors and to Filipino culture which in its colorful variety has been a cradle of genius. 

Transfiguration Monastery, Bukidnon

Indeed, significant and symbolic words for a Philippine National Artist - hailed both for advancing our culture and for leaving an astute and creative legacy.

* This article was written for the February 2012 issue of Pinoy Times.